A reader noticed some changes to ToolGuyd content, let’s talk about it.
Weekends?
I typically put work in on the weekends anyway, and switch to a 7-day posting schedule over the holiday season. This year a lot of regulars are checking in on weekends, so why wait until Monday?
Post Count?
Post count also tends to go up over the holiday season. By this much? Not usually in October. I’ve been avoiding a backlog, and there are other reasons, discussed below.
Advertisement
Post Titles?
I’m testing more pragmatic titles after observing industry trends, and it’s more of an experiment.
A reader purchased a 4-pack of penlight flashlights for $9. That’s super cheap. Are they any good? I’m not buying any tools right now, at least nothing that isn’t a high priority, until I can clear my backlog.
So the title becomes “Are these Ultra-Cheap Pocket Flashlights any Good?” It’s a genuine question I’m asking, and I don’t have to think too hard about it. I can always update titles later.
The main thought, question, or feature could go into the title. That way there’s no confusion about the point, and regulars know what they’re getting into before they click.
Search and news feed engines today tend to value “news,” timeliness, and freshness.
This is one of ToolGuyd’s highest performing posts of all time: A Completely Unexpected Ryobi Tool Deal at Home Depot. That post had 100X the pageviews of a typical medium-interest post.
Advertisement
A lot of websites have moved to super-shady title tactics. Let’s say a mechanics tool price was discounted from $49 to $45. One group of sites will say stores are “selling it for pennies.”
Buy something get something for free cordless power tool promos? “Home Depot is giving away free tools, claim one now.”
With tool discovery posts, I’m experimenting with being more conversational without being clickbaity.
Have I seen a change in attention from regular readers, good or bad? Not that I can discern, so there’s no apparent gain or detriment there. So the experiment is more to see if that pulls in more new visitors.
If I order one for review later, the title can be more searchable, such as “[Brand] [Type of Tool] Review.”
There’s More
I’m experimenting with a more agile posting structure.
This is a unique finger ratchet set that’s available on Amazon. There was another listing, but it’s not available right now. It looks to be made by Infar, a hand tool company based in Taiwan.
I’ve never seen palm/finger ratchets like that before. It’s available in 10mm and 13mm sizes, and square drive adapters let you turn them into palm ratchets that can work with other socket sizes.
Seems pretty interesting if you ask me. So why haven’t I posted about it yet? Time. Priorities.
At one point I moved to a “just one post per tool or topic if possible” approach. Now, it seems more beneficial to not worry about that.
Last week I discovered an interesting Halloween-themed folding knife. Was it post-worthy? I was interested enough to read up on it, so yes – I proceeded with a quick post.
When researching that post I came across another of a very different style. I ordinarily would have added it to my queue, for posting another time. When? So I proceeded with a quick post rather than risk rediscovering it 4 months from now.
Greater agility, fewer obstacles – that’s the goal.
What About Recent Tool News Posts?
A tool brand sponsored and prioritized influencers and provided a dearth of media resources. We’ve had 2 years of conversations about this. It was still appreciated.
So, I published posts using whatever images, information, and details were made available.
Why not just one post? Smaller product-specific posts are easier to work on one at a time, and provide ToolGuyd with greater benefits.
And if they provided nothing as they did last time? I would have posted using whatever I could scrape together from public sources – as I had did last time. Last time, they came to me afterwards with updated images and information, and it wasted so much of my time rewriting posts.
Would you rather learn about a product today in any capacity, or wait 6 months? Something is better than nothing, and allows me to keep moving forward.
This Time of Year
Q4 is always a good time for experimentation, as I tend to do is keep a closer eye on post performance and indicators of reader and visitor interest. I typically try out new post formats.
What works or doesn’t work carries over into the new year. Or doesn’t.
This year, there’s just a lot going on at once. Plus, keep in mind what I said in this post: Cool Tools, Deals, and Gift Ideas . Some readers always say that a lot of the holiday deals don’t interest them. So, I’m working on some posts about tools that I think will, and the results will help determine what I prioritize in November and December.
Once I pick up the pace for the holiday season, it gets really hard to slow down until the first or second week of December. ToolGuyd has been like that for as long as I can remember.
bob
keep up the good work!
Rob H
Thank you for the effort you put into this site. It’s a daily stop-in for me.
Cory
This flashlight post also helps explain the Hilti Posts. You type up what you know, and then go back and update it later. Of course, the old hey Hilti, I did a post on all your new tools… well what you shared. And If I can paraphrase Rod Tidwell from the movie Jerry Maguire, “Show me the details.”
Enjoy all the posts… and all you commenters. A few commenters have moved me from pass to sold.
Stuart
Hilti makes some good tools, and my primary USA contact is fantastic. I wish they were able to explain why the new flash battery charges faster, how they achieve unquantified power gains in the new higher capacity batteries, and other things in a timely manner.
My options were to i) complete exclude them, ii) nag for more details and answers, which might take months to trickle in and consume an exhaustive amount of everyone’s time, or iii) make do with what they were willing to provide.
I prefer comprehensive reporting, but can work with little and even no support.
fred
What you say makes sense. I spend most of my tool-buying dollars on gifts. I’ve become the “dad-grandfather-uncle- great uncle” that you get tools from at Christmas. If others are like me – it makes sense that they are paying more attention to finding new stuff and sales in Q4. So. Q4 is logically a time of opportunity for TG.
BTW – those thumbwheel ratchets do seem a bit unique. But I’m noting a trend for what some (like Vim) are calling dual-drive sockets – or others (like Astro Pneumatic) calling nano sockets – that have both external and internal drives.
ToolGuyDan
Not sure if I missed it, but where’s the signup page to be part of your extended family, Fred? 🤣
You have some lucky people in your life. I hope they recognize your effort, and don’t just dismiss you as the “uncle who gave us bit-ratchets when we asked for an espresso machine”. It’s the one downside of being an aficionado of something broadly useful: it’s hard to spot the line between “here’s [an upgraded version of] something they wanted” vs. “here’s an obscure specialty tool”.
zchris87v
In the era of “we asked 5 mechanics what their favorite tool was, and they all agreed” articles (funny how not one single person ever disagrees), it’s refreshing to see honest titles. I don’t even bother finding these posts in the following/feed of my browser, I just keep this page’s tab open and refresh it.
Matt_T
“Would you rather learn about a product today in any capacity, or wait 6 months?”
For news publish with what have when the story breaks.
“Last time, they came to me afterwards with updated images and information, and it wasted so much of my time rewriting posts.”
Set a hard cut-off for updating news articles. I’m thinking a few hours at most. Nobody expects news articles to be updated beyond then and I doubt many go back to re-read them. You could also look at your post article update page views, and maybe affiliate revenue if it’s page specific, to see if the extra effort was worth it.